By Shawn Williams
Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News reports that John Rhadigan has been booted off the Texas Rangers T.V. broadcast. Rhadigan had struggled mightily with moving over from the Fox Sports studio show into the play-by-play booth with Tom Grieve. According to Horn, radio announcer Dave Barnett will move over to television while former Ranger Steve Busby will team up with Eric Nadel on most nights.
The Rhadigan was a bad idea from the start. Most play-by-play guys work their way up in the same way ballplayers do, by paying their dues with minor league teams or in smaller markets. Handing Rhadigan this gig (without much of a search) in this market after the team’s World Series appearance was poor judgment and in the end not good for the man himself. But the timing of the announcement of his firing is genius, as we all bask in the glow of the Mavs.
I never heard one person who supported the hire, though all J.R.’s media colleagues rooted for his success. Most of the criticism he received was fan chatter and one websites (including comments we received), the media was pretty much silent.
Baseball fans can be brutal, and sharp criticism of Rhads work can be found all over the net. There’s no need to kick a man while he’s down, so I’ll say I wish Mr. Rhadigan the best. He’s a pro and he’ll be fine.
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